Who agrees that for those cozy winter feels, sometimes all you need is just a nice warm drink? Hygge-inspired touches like twinkle lights and crackling fires can also up the ‘feel-good’ vibe, but there’s nothing quite like warming up from the inside out. And I’m not just talking about dunking a tea bag into hot water and calling it a day.
Keep reading to heat up your cold-weather sipping sessions with everything from superfoods to red wine. Let me know which ones are your favorite. Some of mine are the superfood drinks, the matcha latte, rose tea latte, moringa latte, and the chocolate hazelnut latte. All are delish!
7 essential winter drink ingredients
There are two important steps to creating the perfect winter drink: ingredients and method. Whether you want an energizing morning sip to start your day or a boozy brew to enjoy after dark will determine your key ingredients. From there, steeping, mulling, and blending are all options for achieving the texture and flavor you crave. We’ve gathered something for everyone, from a robust and rich mulled wine to an adaptogenic herbal latte, so grab a mug and take your pick.
For the red wine drinkers
It’s extra festive to take your favorite bottle of clean wine and transform it into a winter-inspired cocktail or post-dinner sipping session. Warm spices make mulled wine a seasonal favorite, but if you’d rather not use a whole bottle, you can easily turn a cup of leftover wine into a spiked latte.
How to make mulled wine (the minimalist way)
Mulled wine is one of the easiest winter alcoholic drinks. This recipe, shared by Cassy Joy Garcia of Fed & Fit, is a low-key approach that only requires five ingredients: red wine (naturally), apple cider, orange juice, an orange, and cinnamon sticks.
Red wine hot cacao
Red wine and chocolate have always paired beautifully, and this recipe combines the two ingredients into a comforting and boozy beverage you’ll be excited to stay in and sip. Add cayenne pepper for a little kick.
A waste-free leftover wine recipe
No need to worry about leftover wine going bad. This latte recipe involves making a cabernet syrup (using reduced wine and sugar), then adding chocolate syrup, espresso, and steamed milk. Although, I would substitute the following ingredients:
Sugar for coconut sugar
Organic dark chocolate for Enjoy Life chocolate chunks
Milk for coconut, cashew or nut milk of your choice
For the morning coffee lovers
The best winter coffee drinks enhance your favorite brew with ingredients you probably have in your pantry already.
Cashew butter coffee
For an energizing take on your morning beverage, make your usual pour-over but add a scoop of cashew butter (for a bit of protein and healthy fat) and blend until frothy.
The only pumpkin spice latte recipe you’ll ever need
Gone are the days when the only option for lattes was cow’s milk. This vegan version whisks pumpkin purée with classic spices like ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon, then finishes the drink with a dollop of coconut cream.
Peppermint cacao mocha
Put on your party hats—peppermint extract makes this mocha taste like a candy cane while rich chocolate and coconut milk create a creamy texture.
For the honey, use agave or maple syrup and for the peppermint extract, you can use all natural peppermint essential oil instead. A couple of drops will do. Use the Enjoy Life chocolate chips in place of the peppermint chocolate chips, add another drop of the peppermint oil and voila! 😉
Vanilla Cinnamon Latte
This vegan dream of a drink takes five minutes to make. Just warm brewed coffee, oat milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and maple syrup over the stove, then whizz everything in a blender until frothy.
If apple cider is your thing
Make the most of the season with apple cider, a concentrated and typically unfiltered beverage popular in the cooler months.
Hot Mulled Apple Cider
This classic recipe has an antioxidant twist. Along with ground cloves, allspice, and cinnamon sticks, we add elderberry powder to help support immunity.
Apple Cider Upgrade: Chai Spice
Warm up with chai spices. Ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, and peppercorns complement tart apples in this slow cooker recipe you can simmer for hours.
If superfoods are your go to
From drops of your favorite CBD tincture to adaptogens like golden turmeric, healthy drink recipes are ideal vessels for your daily supplement dose.
Your Evening Routine Needs Vanilla Moon Milk
When you could use respite from a long week, turn to our vanilla moon milk with dried lavender, raw honey, and a few drops of CBD oil to help you relax.
For this recipe, I would substitute the honey for agave to make it vegan. You can get the dried lavender here and the vanilla bean here.
Golden Milk Latte Recipe
This photo-worthy latte gets its color from the ever-so-potent turmeric powder. This powerful drink provides added nutrition and will help ease you out of an afternoon slump. Best of all, it only takes five minutes to prepare!
Substitute the honey for agave and eliminate the bone broth to make it vegan. Use coconut or hazelnut milk instead for a boost in flavor. 😉
Magnesium Moon Milk
Ground yourself before bed with magnesium moon milk. It combines magnesium powder—a nutrient that converts food into energy and may help you ease into sleep—with pantry staples like coconut milk, ground ginger, and cardamom.
The Best Turmeric Latte
Curl up in your favorite blanket and sip this deliciously sweetened latte made with rich coconut milk, raw nectar, and all the warm spices (including turmeric, nutmeg, and ginger). For an extra luxurious sip, top off your mug with coconut whipped cream.
Substitute the honey for agave to make it vegan.
Hemp and Coconut Chai Latte
I love this toasty drink for two reasons. First, it’s a vessel for whole-plant hemp extract and adaptogenic herbs. Second, the concentrate (spiked with cardamom, allspice, and cinnamon) makes enough for 10 servings so you can warm up on repeat for days.
London Fog Latte With MCT Oil
Get ready for a virtual trip to London (in a cup, that is) with this restorative keto-friendly latte (for those on the keto kick) inspired by the foggy city of 1952. The recipe adds lavender and MCT oil to Earl Grey tea for an energizing afternoon sip.
Get the dried lavender here.
Hibiscus Rose Moon Milk
Here’s one more moon milk recipe that is worth the sip and savor. Enhance your evening routine with calming and floral rose hip tea steeped with macadamia nut milk, honey, ginger, and ashwagandha powder. Macadamia nuts are among my favorite nuts for a sweet, nutty, nutritional flavor.
You can get the hibiscus and rose hip tea here and the edible flowers here.
If cocktails are your jam
The Hot Toddy has roots in British-controlled India and dictionary.com notes that in the 1600s, the Hindi word “taddy” (first recorded between 1600-1610) meant “beverage made from fermented palm sap.” The version we know today blends the perfect amount of booze with honey for sweetness and spices for warmth. Although honey does have amazing benefits, for vegans, agave would be the alternative option.
The Best Hot Toddy Recipe to Sip by the Fire
Keep classic cocktail ingredients on hand for a relaxing night in. This easy Hot Toddy recipe makes one drink—double it to serve two.
INGREDIENTS
¾ cup water
1 ½ ounces whiskey
2 to 3 teaspoons Thrive Market Organic Raw Honey
2 to 3 teaspoons lemon juice
1 lemon peel
1 cinnamon stick (optional)
Use maple syrup to make it vegan.
INSTRUCTIONS
Bring water to a simmer in a small saucepan; pour into mug. Add whiskey, 2 teaspoons honey and 2 teaspoons lemon juice; stir until honey dissolves. Taste and add reserved honey and lemon juice if needed. Garnish with lemon peel and cinnamon stick, if using.
For the avid tea drinker
With flavors ranging from sweet to savory, there’s a perfect tea for any season. This winter you can rely on fan favorite sustainable Thrive Market teas like Earl Grey (see above), black, and ceremonial matcha to bring extra comfort on the coldest days.
Paleo Matcha Latte
Embrace your inner barista with a three-ingredient paleo-friendly matcha latte recipe. Ceremonial matcha, honey (or agave to make it vegan), and coconut milk are all you need for latte perfection.
A Rose Latte for the Long Days of Winter
Pretty in pink, here’s a rose tea latte tinted with beet root powder for added nutrients. A frothy dollop of your favorite creamer will have you smitten with this winter-ready recipe.
Keto Chai Latte
If you’re feeling chilly but following a keto diet, keep this chai latte recipe on standby but instead of using the powdered grass-fed butter, opt for this coconut cream powder (delivering MCT, minerals, and vitamins). It’s the twist to the creamines in your latte. Another option for replacing the powdered grass-fed butter is using magnesium powder for an anti-stress, a more calming effect and nutritional boost instead.
Substitute the milk for cashew or almond milk (Barista edition) to make it vegan.
Vegan Moringa Latte
The moringa plant hails from India and is considered a superfood thanks to nutrients like B12, vitamin C, and thiamin. This vegan and caffeine-free latte starts with earthy rooibos tea, then adds creamy coconut milk, lemon juice, and moringa leaf powder.
Your New Bedtime Brew: Chamomile and Honey Latte
Relax with a cup of chamomile tea that adds raw Manuka honey and frothed almond milk for a coffee shop experience at home. Use a frother to give it that extra creamy and frothy look and substitute the honey for your choice of vegan sweetener to veganize it.
For the tea, Hemp Moringa Wellness Tea or Numi Chamomile Lemon will also go over well and to add a more relaxing and soothing feel, the Numi flowering tea blossoms with glass teapot will nourish the senses and make for a magical tea experience like no other!
If you’re craving hot chocolate
If you love chocolate, knowing how to make hot chocolate is a winter survival strategy you won’t want to live without something. These recipes will not only satisfy your chocolate cravings, they will top off your day with the cozy winter feels and a touch of nostalgia.
Mexican Hot Chocolate
A few extra touches—including a pinch of punchy cayenne and ground cinnamon—make this easy drinking chocolate recipe extra special. Bonus: It’s ready in five. You’ll need to get Cacoco Drinking Chocolate to make these recipes. This is the key ingredient and an absolute must have if you love chocolate!
You’ll also need vegan hot cocoa mini marshmallows and coconut whipped cream which you can easily make yourself using coconut cream and by following this recipe or you can just use So Delicious Coco Whip already made for you for a hassle-free experience. For the vegan marsh
Chocolate Hazelnut Latte
Cacao butter, espresso, and non-dairy hazelnut creamer are the decadent ingredients in this invigorating latte that’ll help give, even your gloomiest of days a little boost.
